The Royal Melbourne Show

Wow! What a day yesterday! As Royal Melbourne Show virgins we weren’t sure what to expect. We’d done a little research, had a few chats with the neighbours and been given some handy tips about show bag buying, but apart from that we were well and truly winging it.

Team map reading challenge!!

The train took us from Flinders Street directly to the showground gate; we hopped off and were faced with views of the unbelievable rides, the laughter, the air filled with excitement!!

‘Celebrating 162 of years of bringing the country to the city this year, the Royal Melbourne Show is Victoria’s largest showcase of agriculture and is conducted annually by The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV).’- Royal Melbourne Show

We headed straight for the Show Bag Pavilion which I was desperate to see. I have never really understood the Aussie Show Bag thing, but if I was ever going to get to grips with it then this was the place to do it. It’s not an exaggeration to say there were more than 300 show bags ranging from $3 upwards. We gave the kids $30 and prayed they’d make a good choice. Monty went for minions (good choice), Poppy (surprise, surprise) went for mega sour lollies! *cue horrified face, and beads of sweat on my forehead.

Once we’d crammed our goodies into a small locker ($10) we headed to see some of the other awesome attractions. The woodchopping was immense, the children screamed wildly at the Freestyle Motorcross Stunt Show, and we all “ooed and ahh’d” over the gorgeous animals in the Animal Nursery.

There is more than you can imagine at this years show, so you need to be prepared with good shoes, a purse full of cash, pre paid ride tickets and be ready for a day of awesome fun.

Our hot tips:

Buy your show bags as soon as you get there to avoid the queues later in the day! Lockers are cheap and far better than lining up for hours!!

The Nova Sky Wheel is one of the best spots for watching the nightly fireworks!!

Take a picnic and top the kids up with hot chips or something delicious from the Woolworths Fresh Food Pavilion. (Strawberries and Chocolate Sauce is $10 for a small cup!!)

Don’t jump on the first ride you see… There are hundreds all over the showground. Make good choices as they’re not cheap!

Make sure you get to the Makers Pavilion to see the astounding work done by some of the handiest people around.. Cakes, crochet, drawing, photography, and much much more!

Check the times for the Feature Entertainment as it would truly be a shame to miss out on the stunts, Hi-5, Jessica Mauboy or Australia’s Strongest Man and Woman!!

We had a truly wonderful day, made some unforgettable memories with friends, enjoyed exploring, ate delicious food, rode scary rides, watched some spectacular shows, and had a good laugh at all the animal poop! Another awesome expat adventure down under!!!

The Royal Melbourne Show is on now until the 3rd October. Open 9:30 – 9pm daily.

You can read all about the show here and use this map to help plan your day!